From the New York Times Bestselling author of MISTER O and BIG ROCK, comes a hot & hilarious new standalone romantic comedy…

I’ve been told I have quite a gift.

Hey, I don’t just mean in my pants. I’ve got a big brain too, and a huge heart of gold. And I like to use all my gifts to the fullest, the package included. Life is smooth sailing....

Until I find myself stuck between a rock and a sexy roommate, which makes for one very hard…place.

Because scoring an apartment in this city is harder than finding true love. So even if I have to shack up with my buddy’s smoking hot and incredibly amazing little sister, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

I can resist Josie. I’m disciplined, I’m focused, and I keep my hands to myself, even in the mere five-hundred square feet we share. Until the one night she insists on sliding under the covers with me. It’ll help her sleep after what happened that day, she says.

Surprise—neither one of us sleeps.

And even though we agree to return to roomies-without-benefits, I quickly realize I want more than someone to split the utilities with. Now all I want is to spend every night—and every day—with my gorgeous roommate.

Did I mention she’s also one of my best friends? That she’s brilliant, beautiful and a total firecracker? Guess that makes her the full package too.

What’s a man stuck in a hard place to do?

Chase Summers is an ER Doctor in need of a place to live. His good friend, Josie Hammer, just happens to be in need of a new room mate. They've been friends for years and she is his best friend Wyatt's little sister. They are both attractive and they have a flirty banter, but they've never acted on anything.

What could possibly go wrong if they start sharing a small apartment?

A whole helluva lot...

Josie is sassy, outgoing, bright, and a bit quirky. She wants the full package and an all inclusive happy future. But she is stumbling around with online dating trying to find her Prince Charming. Chase is charismatic, intelligent, dedicated, funny, and caring. But he is untrusting of relationships especially involving already established friendships for good reason.

Chase has faith in his ability to avoid any complications due to his compartmentalization skills. Josie thinks she can control herself despite his good looks and the way he makes her laugh. Friendship has to come first...lust needs to be kept locked away. 

But they eventually start breaking some friendship rules: Friends should not flirt. Friends should not get jealous. Friends should not ogle each other. Friends should not talk about sex. Friends should not ever be in the same bed together (or heck, a couch or kitchen counter might even provide too much temptation)...

Will their resistance hold up or will the walls come tumbling down? Can they manage a friends with benefits situation? Or will it all get messy and end up damaging their close bond?

Complications arise as his ability to keep things compartmentalized starts to get a bit muddled. And she knows she is an emotional person and does not do as well keeping things in separate boxes. And both have fears of sharing too much and ruining the good thing they have going.

Friendship, lust, fear, fun, avoidance, secrets, and hidden feelings could be a recipe for disaster. Or the right combination could mean everything. 

This is told in Chase's point of view with just a bit of Josie mixed in the story in a creative way. I really liked them both so much. I loved their rapport and banter. They were fun, flirty, and playful, but also had serious sexual tension and chemistry. They were totally hot together, but also sweet and compatible. It becomes a flurry of lust and hidden feelings. I was so tense waiting for one of them to admit to their feelings.

It's about realizing how important it is to live life without regrets. But it also involves taking a risk of losing a friendship in the pursuit of something more. Is it better to take the safe route or the leap of faith? Are the risks worth the possible rewards?

I enjoyed getting more with other friends from this series of stand-alones especially with her brother, Wyatt, and his brother, Max. This whole group of friends and family is fun and interesting, and I enjoy getting to spend more time with them. I am really looking forward to Max's story in Joy Stick. 

I was gifted a a copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Chase is in a bind. When he can’t find a place to live in Manhattan, his best friend offers a spare room. It seems the perfect arrangement for both of them, until Chase realizes he doesn’t just have platonic feelings for his new roommate, he just might love her. They have always been close, but neither have acted anything other than friendly. Can he convince Josie that he can be what she is looking for in her life, not just the friend in the other room?

The chemistry between these two grows off the charts as the flirtation that has always been between them is confined within 600 sq. ft. What started out as casual, feelings easily kept tamped down in favor of their solid friendship, quickly morphs into a fire neither one of them expected nor has the willpower to deny.

Chase is such a suave character that is would be easy for this to become a macho, chest beating narrative. But while he may project the confident doctor to the world, Josie has always gotten a different side of him. There are several very key moments in the story where Chase shows that his armor isn’t nearly as impenetrable as others think, and Josie is the only one (besides his brother) that gets to see those weak moments. He is the full package, he just has to convince Josie that he can be it for her.

Josie was fun to read. We don’t get quite as clear a picture of Josie’s thoughts, as Chase is the main narrator, but as the format for this series has established, we do get glimpses of Josie’s feelings through short scenes in the form of recipes. I loved how clearly Josie’s emotions are channeled in those short, formulaic moments, and some of her recipes (minus the emotion) sound delicious!
Once again, Lauren Blakely pulled me into her New York immediately and didn’t let me go. Cameos by characters from her other stand alones swept me into the world and tied these characters in. For those who have read her other stand alones, Chase and Josie are not brand new characters, but seeing them as the center of their own story gives them new life. Readers are also introduced to Chase’s brother, Max, and get tiny teasers about his own story that will be coming up in Joy Stick.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Don’t Miss All of Lauren’s Romantic Comedies written from the Male POV!

BIG ROCK 
MISTER O 
WELL HUNG 

JOY STICK (Spring 2017)

Since self-publishing her debut romance novel CAUGHT UP IN US three years ago, Lauren Blakely has sold more than 1 million books. She is known for her sexy contemporary romance style that's full of heat, heart and humor. A devout fan of cake and canines, Lauren has plotted entire novels while walking her four-legged friends. She lives in California with her family. With ten New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than fifty times. Her bestselling series include Sinful Nights, Seductive Nights, No Regrets, Caught Up in Love, and Fighting Fire as well as standalone romantic comedies like BIG ROCK and MISTER O, which were both instant New York Times Bestsellers. In the fall she'll release WELL HUNG, another romantic comedy. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter: laurenblakely.com/newsletter.